Is Perry's brain freeze fatal?--NRCC goes up with second ad against Kissell--American Action Network targets Boswell, Kissell--RNC hits White House on Solyndra contradictions

MICHIGAN MELTDOWN – PERRY’S BRAIN FREEZE: Perry froze up on stage last night as he struggled to list the three federal departments he plans to cut. He got Education and Commerce, but then he forgot the Department of Energy. It is the most memorable – and cringe-inducing – debate moment since Tim Pawlenty doomed his candidacy on June 13 by refusing to own up to “Obamneycare” in New Hampshire. Watch the 53-second video: http://bit.ly/tUI9FG.

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CLEAN UP – PERRY VISITS THE SPIN ROOM: “I'm glad I had my boots on tonight. I stepped in it out there,” he told reporters. “I may have forgotten Energy, but I haven't forgotten my conservative principles."

A TV ROUND ROBIN: Seeking to limit the fallout, Perry pretaped “Good Morning America” at 6:30 a.m. and “The Early Show” at 6:40. He does “Today” live at 7, "Fox & Friends" at 7:15 and CNN at 7:25. (h/t Mike Allen)

ONWARD TO SOUTH CAROLINA: Last night makes it almost impossible for Perry to skip future debates. If he’s not there, the network he’s avoiding will simply play the clip on a loop. The candidate confirmed last night that he will debate in South Carolina this Saturday night. Asked if his bid suffered a mortal blow, Perry told the Associated Press this morning: “Oh, shoot, no. This ain’t a day for quittin’ nothin’.” http://bit.ly/vMNlp5

REPUBLICAN REACTION—

MICHAEL BARONE: “My younger colleagues at the Washington Examiner twittered that this was the worst moment in a presidential debate for a candidate they had ever seen. Well, I have been watching presidential debates since the first Kennedy-Nixon debate in 1960, and it was the worst moment in a debate I have ever seen too.” http://bit.ly/uodwzj

MIKE MURPHY (@murphymike): “People now jumping out of windows at Perry HQ in TX. That one really, really hurt.”

MICHELE BACHMANN: (asked about it on CNBC after the debate): "It was a tough moment…We all felt very bad for him.”

SARA TAYLOR FAGEN, the Republican strategist who advised Pawlenty: “It was a political death knell. There’s just no recovering from a moment like that when you’ve had such a bad record of debates.” http://nyti.ms/vN2N7v

ERIC FEHRNSTROM, senior Romney advisor: “There is nothing I could say that could darken the moment that Rick Perry had up on stage.”

HOW IT’S PLAYING IN THE MSM—

JON WARD looks at the eerie similarities between the Pawlenty and Perry incidents: http://huff.to/sldv1C.

MARK HALPERIN gives Perry a D-. “An epic disaster,” he says. “He can put his head down and try to get past the error, but it is going to be very tough.” http://ti.me/teI7jg

CHRIS CILLIZZA listed Perry twice in the LOSERS section of his column last night. He’s the only candidate who Chris thinks lost the night: “Perry’s fundraising is likely to slow (stop?) as major donors who either were on board or thinking about getting on board will take a major step back. Ditto voters who were undecided on Perry. We never say never in politics but at first glance it’s hard to see how Perry recovers from what happened…” http://wapo.st/sfBTmC

NEW YORK TIMES headline on A1: “‘Oops’ at Debate When Perry Can’t Get to Three.” Jeff Zeleny and Ashley Parker: “It could be weeks before it is clear whether it has a permanent effect on his campaign, but at a minimum it left him facing additional questions about his candidacy.” http://nyti.ms/vN2N7v

NON-PERRY TAKEAWAYS – From Maggie Haberman: “The in-house crowd buoyed Herman Cain…[Romney’s] answers were polished, he didn’t lose his cool as he did with Perry at the last debate in Nevada, and he was able to put a shine on his bestselling point - his business record - in a debate about the economy…[Gingrich is now] the undercard candidate who is ripest for picking up where Perry, Michele Bachmann and possibly Cain have left off as the anti-Romney alternative… Huntsman is inching up…The debate was all about the economy, but the candidates are mostly still keeping it sparse when it comes to answers on how they would deal with issues like the European debt crisis.” http://politi.co/tJXF6n

THE BIG PICTURE – “ROMNEY RIVALS CONTINUE TO IMPLODE”: “Romney backers are exquisitely aware that their only opponent with a conservative record and a sizable pot of campaign cash may have just imploded for good since his gaffe came in the wake of several exceptionally weak debate performances,” Jonathan Martin and Alex Burns write in the analysis piece leading our site this morning. “There’s still a gaping space in the field for an anti-Romney conservative, but the list of plausible options is narrowing to approximately none.” http://politi.co/vk3wDZ

GALLUP POLLING out last night shows many Republicans coming to terms with the increasing likelihood that Romney will be the nominee. 45% of Republicans identified the former Massachusetts governor as most likely to win the nomination. All the other candidates – combined – added up to only 35%. http://bit.ly/sWqrRd

** As Cain gets unexpectedly overshadowed, the pundits mull over the lessons of Tuesday’s off-year elections and Democrats get a good recruit in Illinois, here’s POLITICO’s Morning Score: your daily guide to the permanent campaign.

EXCLUSIVE – NRCC HITS KISSELL ON STIMULUS: The National Republican Congressional Committee is going up Thursday with their second ad of the cycle against North Carolina’s Larry Kissell. In September, the NRCC hit the vulnerable Democrat on spending. Now they are targeting him for supporting the 2009 stimulus with a two-week buy on Charlotte cable for about $10,000. “Last time President Obama pushed a wasteful stimulus plan, Larry Kissell went along with it – and we got burned,” the narrator says. “Now President Obama is pushing more wasteful stimulus spending. What will Larry Kissell do?” Besides the two ads, the NRCC has run three sets of robocalls against Kissell since the start of the year. Watch: http://bit.ly/vyvYT5.

AMERICAN ACTION NETWORK – TARGETING KISSELL AND BOSWELL: The conservative American Action Network will spend about $100,000 on cable ads starting today to run through the middle of next week that press Democrats Larry Kissell and Leonard Boswell (Iowa) to vote for a Balanced Budget Amendment to the Constitution. “The national debt is on track to exceed $15 trillion any day now and the federal government is projected to run yawning budget deficits for the foreseeable future, so it only makes sense to enact legislation forcing Washington to be responsible,” says American Action Network President Brian Walsh. Here is the ad targeting Kissell: http://bit.ly/tbqNsC. Here is the Boswell spot: http://bit.ly/rKthOf.

FIRST IN SCORE – RNC HITS OBAMA ON “LATEST SOLYNDRA CONTRADICTION”: Newly revealed emails that suggest George Kaiser talked to White House officials about the Solyndra loan despite his denials offer kindling to a Republican National Committee eager to grow the fire enveloping the administration’s green energy initiatives in scandal. The RNC has produced a one-minute web video juxtaposing news reports of the new emails against Jay Carney’s insistence in September that this was a non-story. A party official writes Score: “From our perspective, someone isn’t telling the truth and the White House is trying to move the goal posts in the middle of the game. Would be questionable for any administration but it is especially questionable for the ‘most transparent administration’ ever.” Watch: http://bit.ly/uaJvKS

MORE FROM THE DEBATE –

EYE ON THE BALL – DNC FOCUSES ON ROMNEY: Every Democratic National Committee rapid response email out of last night’s debate was about Mitt Romney. The DNC has just posted a new 30-second web video. It hits him for saying he cares about Michigan like no one else running for president last night, juxtaposing the clip against old video of Romney saying “Let Detroit go bankrupt.” Watch: http://bit.ly/vzKUGM.

CAIN DEFIANT ON SEXUAL HARASSMENT: “Twenty minutes into the nationally broadcast debate, he was asked to address the charges. Cain, who has defiantly denied any wrongdoing, delivered a spirited defense,” the LA Times writes. "The American people deserve better than somebody being tried in the court of public opinion based on unfounded accusations," Cain said to a roar of approval from the debate audience. "I value my character and my integrity more than anything else. And for every one person that comes forward with a false accusation, there are probably — there are thousands who would say none of that sort of activity ever came from Herman Cain." http://lat.ms/tivNy2

CAIN WALKS BACK “PRINCESS NANCY”: While Perry made his first trip to the spin room after a debate, Cain avoided it for the first time of the campaign: http://abcn.ws/t0gn0X. But, on CNBC, he acknowledged that he probably should not have referred to the first woman Speaker of the House as a princess. "That was a statement that I obviously should not have made, but I was trying to make a point,” he said. http://reut.rs/vQ1F5d

THE WIFE – GLORIA CAIN SET TO TAPE FOX INTERVIEW THIS WEEKEND: Finally. “Gloria Cain, who's been in talks to go on Fox News with Greta Van Susteren, is expected to tape the long-awaited interview this weekend,” a source tells Maggie Haberman. “The interview is likely to air as early as NEXT WEEK, although it wasn't immediately clear where it will be taping.” Herman Cain, meanwhile, will be on David Letterman’s show Friday night. http://politi.co/ue6XJ4

IOWA TALKER – POTENTIAL CONFLICTS OF INTEREST FOR CAUCUS BODY: “A debate has erupted within the organization responsible for governing much of Iowa’s caucus process over the rules regarding members’ political activities,” Alex Moe and Jamie Novograd report for NBC. “The by-laws of the Iowa GOP don’t prevent any member of the Republican State Central Committee (SCC) from endorsing, volunteering, or receiving pay from presidential campaigns, setting up complaints of perceived conflicts of interest in members’ decision-making…Seven [of 17] members of the committee have openly endorsed candidates, and some have taken paid staff positions – developments that have spurred a rift within the committee and among Republicans statewide.” http://on.msnbc.com/uI8p9H

POLLING –

QUINNIPIAC SHOWS TIGHT RACES IN SWING STATES: “A Quinnipiac University survey released Thursday shows tight races between Obama and Romney, as well as former restaurant executive Herman Cain, in Florida, Ohio and Pennsylvania,” per CNN. “In Florida, Romney beats Obama 45%-42%...In a matchup with Cain, Obama edges the former Godfather's Pizza executive 45%-41%...In Ohio, 45% of likely voters chose Obama while 42% picked Romney. The race in Pennsylvania between Obama and Romney is in a statistical dead heat with Obama at 44% and Romney 43%.” CNN story: http://bit.ly/tn7ZCT. Full results: http://bit.ly/s55BiG.

70% IN SOUTH CAROLINA HAVEN’T DECIDED OR EXPECT TO CHANGE THEIR MIND: “Two months short of the state’s Jan. 21, 2012, presidential primary, South Carolina voters are unsure of who is the best GOP candidate to support. That’s the finding of the just-completed Clemson University 2012 Palmetto Poll of a sample of 600 likely voters,” the school says in a release. http://bit.ly/sidZdp

OBAMA BACK TO EVEN ON GENERIC BALLOT: Gallup numbers out this morning show President Obama essentially tied, 43% to 42%, against a "generic" Republican candidate among registered voters. The Republican led the last two months. http://bit.ly/tTX902

WHAT THE REPUBLICAN CANDIDATES ARE UP TO: Romney meets with supporters at the American Polish Cultural Center in Troy, Michigan. Gingrich hosts a town hall in Detroit. Cain meets with Michigan organizers in Ypsilanti, Kalamazoo, Grand Rapids and Traverse City. Santorum has town halls in Merrimack, Michigan, and New Boston, N.H. before an evening speech in Concord. Bachmann gives a foreign policy speech in Mt. Pleasant, S.C. and then has a meet-and-greet in West Columbia. Gingrich, Santorum and Buddy Roemer are participating in a Hampton, N.H., forum at the end of this busty day.

WHAT THE PRESIDENT IS UP TO – NO PUBLIC EVENTS TODAY: “In the afternoon, the President will meet with senior advisors in the Oval Office.”

SNEAK PEEK – MATT GOETTEN RUNNING FOR ILLINOIS HOUSE: Matt Goetten will announce today that he is running in Illinois’ new 13 th district. Goetten, a Democrat, currently serves as the Greene County State’s Attorney and as a Judge Advocate General with the Illinois Air National Guard. A national Democrat notes that recent Public Policy Polling shows incumbent Tim Johnson is vulnerable after redistricting. Goetten grew up in a middle class family and has spent his life in the district. In his announcement, he will highlight his time overseas in Afghanistan and with the Illinois National Guard. Watch for him to make an early contrast to Johnson. He will say that the Republican goes along with GOP extremes.

SNEAK PEEK – EMILY’S LIST PUTS TWO CALIFORNIA DEMS “ON THE LIST”: The group believes Golden State redistricting has opened up a few great pick-up opportunities for women. They are putting two candidates in a category that gets them in front of their members, while not quite a full endorsement. Gloria Negrete McLeod was first elected to the California state Senate in November 2006 after serving in the state Assembly since 2000. Denise Moreno Ducheny spent six years in the state Assembly and eight years in the state Senate.

REFLECTING ON TUESDAY’S ELECTION RESULTS –

POLITICO’S FIVE LESSONS: Charlie Mahtesian, our politics editor, and Alex Isenstadt looked at Tuesday’s results in the context of the other recent special elections. 1) Democrats are not dead yet. 2) Obama’s still a drag. 3) There’s a recipe for Democrats to succeed in red states. 4) There’s not much to suggest that the tea party movement is poised to play the same pivotal role at the ballot box in 2012 as in 2010. 5) Voters bristle at overreach by both sides. http://bit.ly/tPpx57

“TEA PARTY” CONNECTION USED BY DEMS TO WIN INDEPENDENTS: The Strategy Group sent a note to some clients yesterday explaining how they helped win seats on the Wake County school board in North Carolina by branding Republican incumbents as tea partiers. The mail campaign warned against “a Tea Party takeover” of public education. They believe that for the first time since the advent of the tea party, this connection worked as a negative to drive up turnout among independent voters. In 2010, that was a riskier proposition. The News and Observer write-up of election results: http://bit.ly/rwe7wi.

WHAT THE LEFT TAKES AWAY: Robert Creamer, a partner in Democracy Partners and a Senior Strategist for Americans United for Change, identified seven lessons in a Huffington Post column. The most relevant: “Lesson #2: It’s much easier to mobilize people to protect what they have than to fight for something to which they aspire… Lesson #6: The face of the battle in Ohio was your neighbor… Lesson #7: Progressives win when we frame the issue as a moral choice.” http://huff.to/vGqBa8

VIRGINIA SENATE – REPUBLICANS DECLARE VICTORY: “Virginia Republicans immediately asserted their new power Wednesday, dismissing talk of sharing authority with Democrats in the state Senate, even though the two parties are likely to have equal numbers of members,” the Washington Post reports: http://wapo.st/tOBq56. The former chairman of the Arlington County Democrats offers six reasons why his party lost control of the state senate: http://bit.ly/tuYpWG. Gov. Bob McDonnell, one of Tuesday’s biggest winners, credits his brand of “results-oriented conservatism” for the victory on RedState: http://bit.ly/sKVp5b.

CODA – QUOTE OF THE DAY: “I need more coffee.”— Freshman Rep. Joe Walsh (R-Ill.), at the end of a screaming two-minute diatribe against a group of constituents. http://on.msnbc.com/uNM5qI

Authors:

About The Author

James Hohmann is a reporter for POLITICO Pro.

He covered the 2012 presidential campaign from start to finish, authoring the daily Morning Score tipsheet for nearly two years as he reported from 23 states over the course of the primaries and general election. Through the fall, he traveled with Mitt Romney.

Hohmann spent 2010 chronicling the Republican Party’s drive to win control of the U.S. House of Representatives.

He arrived from The Washington Post at the end of 2009. Previously he wrote for the Los Angeles Times Washington bureau, the Dallas Morning News and The San Jose Mercury News.

An honors graduate of Stanford University, Hohmann studied American political history. He served as editor-in-chief of The Stanford Daily and wrote an award-winning thesis about the 1976 Republican primaries and the political ascendancy of Ronald Reagan.